Luna and the Doctor
by Colourmeclassy
Summary: Thirteen-year-old Luna Lovegood is home alone during her summer holiday, when a very strange muggle telephone box appears in her front yard.


Disclaimer: I don't own Luna, the Doctor, the TARDIS, or absolutely anything in this story. Except for the Swiss Mazicot.

Luna Lovegood did not enjoy the summer holiday. It always had the unsightly habit of making her feel lonely. She never minded being alone, of course – that wasn't the real issue. Even when school was in session, she certainly spent a lot of time alone. She never minded when her father had to spend long hours at the Quibbler office. When the heat began to rise though, it always tended to remind her of that fateful July day when her mother passed away. That was when the loneliness would take hold of her, when she was forced to remember her mother was not there anymore and never would be.

She was not the type of person to wallow in her sorrows, though. Luna almost always pushed them aside and persevered. Today, though, it was a little more difficult than usual. Her heart was heavy with the loss of her mom. It had been three years ago this very day, but it still hurt as if she had just witnessed it moments earlier.

Suddenly, Luna was jostled from her thoughts by a peculiar and loud noise coming from outdoors. The odd "vworp" noise resonated through Luna's house and was unlike anything she had ever heard before. Positively precocious, she rushed to the window to look outside.

There, sitting very conspicuously on her front lawn, was a strange blue box. She recognized it as an old muggle telephone box; she had seen pictures of them before in a few muggle books that belonged to her father's personal library. Luna paused to think, had the telephone box been there this morning? No, certainly not, she concluded. She had never seen it before. So when had it arrived, and what was it doing here?

And so the flaxen-haired girl rushed out the door toward the odd blue box. Just as she approached it, the door flew open, causing Luna to jump back slightly in surprise. A lanky gentleman stumbled out, looking quite confused. When his eyes fell upon Luna, a wide smile sprang across his face.

"Why hello!" He exclaimed, extending his hand to shake hers. "May I bother to ask you what the date is?" He was taller than her, wearing a brown suit jacket and a red bowtie. His brown hair was rather tousled and his eyes radiated friendliness.

"The date?" Luna inquired, slightly miffed still by the random appearance of this young man in her yard. "You must've been bitten by a Swiss Mazicot! Their venom causes a very specific amnesia problem, which is why you can't remember the date, I'm sure. It's July the eighteenth, 1995."

"Swiss Mazicot, you say?" The stranger replied. "Hm, I can't say I've ever heard of that. Thank you very much, though. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance – I'm the Doctor."

Luna shook his hand and returned the smile. "My name's Luna Lovegood, Mr. Doctor. I am very happy to make your acquaintance as well!"

The Doctor looked around again, noticeably trying to get an idea of his surroundings. "Can I ask you exactly where we are, Miss Lovegood?"

"Why, you must've taken in a lot of that Mazicot venom! We're just outside of the muggle village of Otterly St. Catchpole, in Devon, England," she explained, eying the man carefully. What was the antidote for Mazicot venom, she asked herself. She couldn't remember what her father had told her.

"Muggle?" The Doctor asked, looking for a definition to the unfamiliar word.

"Nonmagical persons," Luna explained helpfully. "Then… you aren't a wizard. May I ask, then, how you transported your telephone box to my front yard?"

The Doctor grinned widely again. "Magic? Oh, that's just wonderful… wizards. Real wizards. Wow! I've only met a handful of those in my time." He then seemed to realize Luna was still watching him, waiting for an answer. "This just isn't any average telephone box right here!" He declared, patting the worn blue box. He leaned toward her and continued in a low whisper, "This is my time machine. I am a time traveler, and sometimes I get a bit lost along the way and end up places I didn't quite anticipate."

"Oh, that is _marvelous_," Luna murmured with awe. Then it occurred to her. "Tea from the Bat Plant!" She shouted. "Tea from the Bat Plant is the best cure for Mazicot venom, and we just happen to have some inside. Would you like to come in? I can brew some for you straight away!" She hesitated. "Unless... of course, you're a time traveler, so I'm sure you have places to go, people to see…"

The Doctor merely smiled at her, offering his arm. "Lead the way, Miss Luna."

Luna put the kettle onto boil and prepared the tea leaves as well as a large mug. The Doctor seated himself at the small round table and continued to glance around at the house.

"Your home is utterly fascinating," he said as he squinted to look at all of the oddities spread throughout. "You live here with your family, I presume?"

"Yes, sir," she nodded. "With my father. He's the editor of the Quibbler."

"No need for 'sir' now, Luna. You can just call me 'Doctor.' The Quibbler?"

Luna set the cup of tea down in front of him. "It's a magazine. Dad is the only one who brings the real news! He doesn't worry about what anyone thinks – only what news is important to get to the people," she explained proudly.

"I see," the Doctor nodded his head in understanding. The kettle began to squeal, and he watched Luna carefully pour the water into the mug. "So I take it you're _not_ a muggle. You're a witch then?"

Luna giggled. "Not quite. I'm studying to be one at Hogwarts, but I still have a long way to go." She sifted through the cabinets looking for the proper biscuit to accompany the tea.

"Hogwarts." The Doctor repeated, taking all of this information in.

"Mhm!" She confirmed. "School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." She found a box of shortbread and began to arrange them on a plate. "Where are you from, Doctor?"

"A long ways from here," he answered solemnly.

Luna nodded. America then, she confirmed to herself. She could see the slightest glimpse of loneliness in the Doctor's green eyes. She placed the plate of shortbread biscuits in front of him. He smiled at her warmly again. "Thank you very much," he said, "you're a wonderful hostess." He took a bite of a biscuit and sipped the tea. "Lovely, very lovely, thank you."

"Of course," she answered, sitting in the seat across from him. "I have to admit, since you're a muggle…" Her voice lowered before she continued, "I'm not supposed to tell you a lot of what I've mentioned. With the Statute of Secrecy and all, I could get in a lot of trouble."

"Not to worry," the Doctor waved her off, "your secrets are safe with me. As long as mine are safe with you." Luna felt relief wash over her.

"Of course!" She promised. "So you're a doctor, who travels through time." She went over the facts carefully.

"Yes, and space," the Doctor added with a mouthful of biscuit.

"And space," Luna repeated in a hushed tone.

"Mhm," he swallowed before continuing, "Time And Relative Dimension in Space – TARDIS – is what my telephone box is called."

"And you travel by yourself?" She inquired.

The Doctor was silent for a moment before he answered. For a moment, Luna recognized that same soft loneliness once more. For a fleeting second, she could see it all over his face – the same loneliness she felt herself that very day. It was the loneliness following the loss of someone you loved.

"Sometimes," he finally answered. "Why?" He smirked. "Do you want to come along with me?"

"Me?" Luna gasped in surprise. "Oh, no, thank you very much… but I couldn't possibly. I can't miss supper."

The Doctor gulped down the rest of his tea and polished off the last biscuit. "Not a problem! I can very easily return you to exactly the time we left. Time machine, remember?" He winked. Luna thought this over. "At least let me give you the tour?"

The Doctor pushed open the door to the TARDIS and stepped aside, allowing Luna entry.

"Wow…" she breathed. "This… this is…" She couldn't find the words, her thoughts racing. She had never seen anything like the inside of the TARDIS.

"I know," he assured her, shutting the door behind them. "Bigger on the inside and all that, takes a little time to wrap your head around. It doesn't make a lot of sense at first."

Luna walked forward slowly, looking all around, trying to take it all in. "Not at all." She spun around to look at the Doctor. "I think it all makes perfect sense."

"You're very wise for a girl your age, Luna. I like that in a person," he complimented, heading toward the large console before them.

"Thank you for saying so, Doctor." She continued surveying the surrounding area. "Your TARDIS is absolutely marvelous!"

"I would be honored if you would accompany me on an adventure," he offered again, giving her a hopeful look.

"Me?" She shook her head. "You don't want me to travel with you."

"I do, though! You don't find girls with a mind like yours these days. It's a quality I very much enjoy in a companion."

"A mind like mine?" She echoed. "I don't know what you mean. Everyone at school thinks I'm crazy... my mind isn't very exceptional at all."

"Now that, my dear Luna, is where you are very wrong." He placed his hands on her shoulders. "You have a very exceptional mind, trust me. I know these things. I've known a lot of people in my travels… and you, in the short time we've known each other, stand out to me as exceptional." He patted her on the head, stepping back to the console. He gave her a look, and without him speaking, she understood he was asking her one more time.

She didn't know this Doctor in the slightest, but she knew somehow that she could trust him. The loneliness that had clenched at her heart so tightly earlier had all but disappeared in the presence of this unique individual. "Okay," she nodded in agreement; her blue eyes were alight with happiness once more.

"And don't let your classmates get to you**,**" he stated as he quickly turned knobs and pressed buttons and pulled levers. She began to hear that same unmistakable 'vworp' noise as the TARDIS began to dematerialize. Ready for their adventures together, the Doctor looked Luna in the eyes. "There's no need to worry. You're just as sane as I am."


End file.
